‘He’s Not Osama Bin Laden’: Thackeray On Mumbai Cop

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the guilty in the Mansukh Hiran death case will be punished, but police officer Sachin Vaze should not be targeted until his alleged involvement is established.

Facing heat over Assistant Police Inspector Vaze’s alleged link to Mr Hiran’s mysterious death, the government earlier in the day announced his transfer from the Mumbai crime branch.

Mr Hiran, who was in possession of the vehicle which was later found with explosives outside the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, was found dead in a creek in Thane last week.

His wife has made allegations against Mr Vaze in her statement.

“Sachin Vaze is not Osama Bin Laden. It is not right to target a person and hang him and then investigate,” Mr Thackeray said.

“Let the probe be over. The guilty, whoever they are, will not be spared,” he said, speaking to reporters after the end of the budget session of the Maharashtra legislature.

On Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis’ claim that Mr Vaze was a member of Mr Thackeray’s party, the Shiv Sena, the chief minister said the officer had become a party member in 2008 and he had not renewed the membership.

“Now he has nothing to do with the Shiv Sena,” he said.

“Dadra Nagar Haveli administrator Praful Kheda Patel, who has been named in the suicide note of (Lok Sabha member) Mohan Delkar, too was with the BJP earlier,” Mr Thackeray said.

The state government has sought the Call Detail Record (CDR) in the Hiran case which Mr Fadnavis possesses, he said.